Chapter Text
The smell of charred flesh and burnt wood was prominent in the air as Naruto’s blue eyes flashed intensely around him. He took in the remnants of violence carelessly left behind by Madara’s jutsu once again.
His legs were on the verge of collapsing – fighting nonstop for two days did that to people. The cuts on his arms were unhealed, so was the large bruise on his torso. He was out of most of Kurama’s chakra and barely any closer to victory than he’d been three years ago.
He shut his eyes, he didn’t have alot of time till that bastard made it here. Nevertheless, even seconds of reprieve would help him get his mind in order.
He knew he had to focus right now, his thoughts couldn’t linger towards the dead...the grief would overwhelm him if they did. So he took a bracing breath and felt for whatever amount chakra he had left – not much, but still enough to weaken Madara and make an escape if he got lucky.
The presence of the Uchiha’s chakra became sharper, more pronounced, and Naruto opened his eyes to meet the swirling red and purple eyes of the man who’d taken way too much from him, the man that had started this war on a selfish whim.
“Hello there, Uzumaki,” the Uchiha gave him a smile like wolves, hungry to see him dead, eager to spill his blood – afterall, Naruto was one of the only ninja still left to be killed by Madara.
“Shut up,” Naruto spit some blood that was pooling in his mouth for a good few minutes now.
Madara’s face twisted to vicious amusement, his eyes blurring behind the dark blue hue of his Susanoo. Naruto kicked back some dirt, grounding himself, stance at the ready. His body shimmered with bright, yellow chakra, grasping at the shallow pools of it left in his system.
The Susanoo’s blade came swinging from his left, too fast for the idle eye to catch its movement. But Naruto was already moving out of the way, calling for his own, blue chakra. His hands glowed, masking his callouses and a madly spinning ball of wind blades conjured.
Madara smiled.
Saturating the rasenshuriken with as much chakra as he could, Naruto hurled it straight at Madara – right below where the armour was placed – yelling a spiteful fuck you in his head.
Madara kept smiling, even as the attack struck home. The second hand of the Susanoo was in motion, gripping the too long blade in its palm and it threw it at Naruto, just like the blond had his rasenshuriken moments ago.
Naruto took a breath, eyes wide in apprehension as he saw the second blade heading towards him at impeccable speeds.
Body flicker, his mind supplied and he made the handsigns for the jutsu.
No chakra gathered. His jaw tightened.
The blade sliced clean through his neck.
Naruto woke up, gasping, hand clawing at his neck – his neck that was attached to his head and chest.
He stilled, blinking hard to shake the haze that had taken refuge in his mind. Phantom pains shot through his neck, reminding him that yes, he’d just been beheaded, and yes, he should be fucking dead right now.
And he probably was, if the pure white room he was in was any indication. Specks of golden dust danced around and he wondered if this was his mindscape – it looked awfully similar to the place he’d met his mother all those years ago.
He stood up, squinting as he did. There was a definite end to this room, he could see the corners, the floor, the ceiling but no door.
He walked towards one side and punched it lightly. The wall remained smoothe, white, undented. He sighed and turned around, wondering if this was some peculiar version of heaven.
That was when the air in front of him shifted, twisting as a vortex of some kind opened and an old guy popped out of it. If Naruto wasn’t so tired, he’d have gaped.
The old man had some black tomoe necklace around his neck, horns protruding from his forehead. Clad in white, pristine-looking robes, all in all, he looked decidedly weird but also at home in the serenity of whatever place Naruto had found himself in.
“Naruto Uzumaki...” the man spoke in a gentle, unwavering tone. “How nice it is to finally meet you.”
Naruto blinked. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Hagoromo,” the old guy supplied, chuckling pleasantly. “You might know me as the Sage of Six Paths, perhaps.”
“You’re not a myth?” Naruto asked flatly, not sure if this was all a figment of near-dead-brain’s imagination or something that he was actually witnessing. “Huh. That’s enlightening.”
Hagoromo nodded, some of his glowing aura dissipating to chip away at his ethereal look. He seemed more tangible now, more real and Naruto had half a mind to go ahead and poke the fellow just so he could be sure the man was actual.
“No, I’m as real as I could be. Or, was. I’m dead now.”
Naruto’s face fell, “Oh. So, I’m dead too.”
“Not quite,” Hagoromo contradicted much to Naruto’s growing confusion. “You’re not dead, yet. You can’t be.”
“What does that mean?” Naruto frowned, running a hand through his hair, pleased to note they were still securely tucked in a band.
“You’re the Child of Prophecy,” Hagoromo said. “But you’ve yet to fulfil the prophecy. You’ve yet to bring the world to an era of peace.”
“That’s bullshit,” Naruto narrowed his eyes. “Prophecies are bullshit.”
“Some are,” Hagoromo agreed but then his eyes shined with an intensity that left Naruto reeling. “But this one isn’t.”
“Explain,” the blond bit out, his patience running thin. He had way too many questions at this point and no satisfying answers.
“I was the Child of Prophecy, too,” the bearded man said, his tone taking a note of reminiscence. “I did what I was bid to. I led the world towards a path of peace and mindfulness. Towards a path of brotherhood and non-violence. But...” Hagoromo closed his eyes, taking a breath as he sat right on the floor. Naruto waited a beat before following suit. “But, I made some grave mistakes. I didn’t see the lurking jealousy in one of my sons, didn’t see what was the cause of it, didn’t make the right choice until it was too late.”
“You’re being too vague,” Naruto commented, crossing his legs to sit more comfortably. “What right choice?”
Hagoromo waved a hand. “Too late to be discussing about it. I’m not here to share my past – though I did it, just to assure you that the prophecy that wrote our tales is indeed interconnected and of substance.”
“Fine,” Naruto acquiesced dubiously. In all honesty, finding his neck connected moments after it’d been brutalised seemed way more difficult to believe than a prophecy told by an old toad. “So, what am I doing here? What exactly is this place if not some part of afterlife?”
“It’s a place where the dead interact with the undead,” Hagoromo said, as if there was nothing wrong about that sentence. “You’re not alive or dead Naruto. Neither here, not there. You can’t pass onto afterlife because your destiny – the life written out for you is not complete. But your physical body has perished and you can’t inhabit it again.”
“So what? I’m just going to be here forever?”
“No. You’re going to live again,” Hagoromo tried to gauge Naruto’s reaction. The blond remained blank-faced.
“You’re kidding me,” he responded, wondering if this was some funky genjustu Madara was putting him through. He reached for his chakra – there was none.
“Don’t bother,” the sage said mildly. “You don’t really have a body to host a chakra system here. You’re present only in essence.”
Naruto massaged his temples. “Whatever. Fuck it,” he glanced at the ceiling. “How do I get out of here?”
“In a moment,” Hagoromo replied. “Before we get there, let me make a few things clearer for you. I reckon you know about Black Zetsu, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Naruto’s visage soured, remembering how the influence behind Madara’s descent into insanity – into villainy – was that creature. “What about him?”
“He, in a twisted way, is my...brother.”
Despite himself, Naruto gave a short, weak laugh.
“Wow,” he muttered. “And just when I thought this couldn’t get any weirder.”
“I’m aware this isn’t exactly an easy thing to imagine or digest but I’ve no reason to lie to you,” Hagoromo continued. “Black Zetsu – you must stop him.”
“Too late,” Naruto repeated the man’s words, a thin smile on his lips.
“No,” Hagoromo intoned, the otherworldly glow returning to his frame. “I haven’t much time but you must listen to me. Time, it’s a funny construct and here, in this world between worlds, it ceases to exist in any meaningful way. In a few moments, you will have to leave this place – no one can remain here for long, souls – they get erased here and you don’t want that.”
Naruto stood up, seeing as Hagoromo’s body was rapidly glittering.
“Stop with the riddles, will you?” he said, frustrated by his circumstances. “How am I supposed to stop Black Zetsu? What good will it even do?”
“From the time you come from, it won’t,” Hagoromo supplied, still speaking in riddles. “Go back, Naruto. When you step out, think of the past, think of a time long gone and if Luck smiles down on you, you’ll be transported to a time that’s passed.”
“You’re nuts!” he spoke in a rush. “What do you mean I should go back?”
“You’ll figure it out,” Hagoromo smiled shakily, illuminated eyes looking down upon the blond with regret. “And remember, your enemy is Black Zetsu – anyone else, they’re just someone from a future yet to come.”
With that Hagoromo’s form evaporated in a turbulent storm of mist, leaving a trail of silvery shimmer in its place.
Naruto stood still for a few moments, trying to wrap his mind around the happenings of the last few minutes. It was too surreal, too crazy to be true, but with a deep churning in his gut, he knew it was anyway.
He bit his lip as he walked round and round the room.
“Go back, Naruto.”
What did the old man mean by that?
Surely, he must know that there was nothing left to go back to. His world was in ruins, plain and simple and there wasn’t much he could save if he were given the chance to.
His mind went back to another statement, something that had him hoping.
“It’s a place where the dead interact with the undead.”
“Mom, dad...” he whispered, searching, looking for any traces of his parents. He gulped, “Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei...”
The golden dust taunted him with its stillness. Naruto picked a corner and sat down, letting his head hit the plain wall behind. Shutting his eyes closed, he finally let himself grieve for the people he’d lost to this war, the only people he’d come to see as family. Tears filled his eyes, slowing flowing down and he didn’t make an effort to curb them. He’d done that for way too long already.
And maybe it really was his imagination this time, but he felt someone pat his hair, soft and gentle and comforting.
Minutes later, he opened his eyes, wiping his tears with his sleeve. Once his blurry vision cleared, he saw it.
A plain, finely cut out door on the opposite wall.
Standing up, he slowly made his way towards it. It was already open and one look outside made him shudder. It was unending darkness that engulfed this room, stretching in each direction infinitely.
“Jump, Naruto,” a whisper made him yelp and he turned his head around frantically trying to find its source. It had sounded like...Sakura and it made his heart ache.
“Sakura-chan...” he called out, feeling the presence of something, someone around him. Why couldn’t he see her?
“Go on, we’ll be waiting for you my son.” Another echo of a gentle, soothing voice and Naruto’s eyes watered because that had been his mom.
“Okay,” he nodded in a wobbly sort of way. “Yes, okay. I know you all are here. Okay.”
“Stop stalling, idiot,” it was Sasuke this time, dryly teasing him like he always had but Naruto knew he heard traces of guilt in that haunted voice. “Don’t eat that crappy ramen once you’re living again.”
“Bastard,” Naruto laughed shakily. “Bastard...”
The silence lingered on for a bit before he felt a barely-there caress in his shoulder.
“I’m proud of you, Naruto,” Kakashi’s voice was soft, but it carried none of the nonchalance the man was infamous for. “Don’t think I ever told you so.”
Naruto brushed away a tear. Stupid, sentimental fools.
“Brat,” the blond’s eyes widened. “Forgot about me already?”
“Jiraiya-sensei...” oh kami, Naruto was going to burst into tears again.
“Can’t say you’ve done me proud,” Jiraiya’s gruff voice was mirthful yet warm. “Got no pretty lady falling for your charm, huh?”
Hinata.
His mind brought forth an image of her mangled body and his lips curled downwards.
“Nah,” he said. “Don’t deserve it.”
“Hey now,” someone nudged his side and it didn’t take him long to realise who it was. His dad. “None of that. You’re an amazing young man, Naruto. We all are so very proud of you. Remember that always, please?”
Naruto tried to nudge his father back but his arm went through plain nothingness.
“I’ll try,” he responded. “So, need to go back in time. Is that right?”
They took a moment too long to reply but Jiraiya’s voice came back again, confident and assured.
“Yes.”
“There’s some catch,” Naruto said, frowning. “Isn’t there?”
Their silence was answer enough.
“Will I ever meet you all again?” he asked, trying to keep his smile intact but failing.
Something brushed his side and the next moment, two hands were wrapping around him, tightly embracing him.
And just for one second, he could see her – his mother.
He immediately hugged her back.
“We’ll always be with you in your memories, Naruto. I love you so, so much, my baby boy,” he could feel a wetness on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there for you.”
Naruto shook his head, pulling her closer, soaking in the warmth he’d always yearned for.
“No, you saved my life,” he let out a shuddering breath. “I love you too, mom. You, dad, everyone.”
Kushina’s form flickered, invisible now. She stepped back.
“Now Naruto,” his father said with as much love as he held for his son. “Leave us be. Go on.”
Naruto approached the opened door again, peering into the dark void. He glanced once more behind him, knowing that the people he held dear were looking upon him.
“Good luck,” he heard them speak in unison and with one, final parting smile, he jumped.